Family
by hypercamera3
Summary: After the events with Lapis, everything Steven knew comes into question. The young gem tries to discover if he can still trust the Crystal Gems, the people around him, and himself to do what needs to be done. A series of events cast doubts on what he believes along his road to self-discovery.
1. Mom

"The ocean disappeared."

That's what everyone was talking about now. The entire world, for a single afternoon, was completely without water. Droughts across the world, areas that were still only just recovering. Across the globe, people had suffered, were still suffering, because of it.

"Where'd the ocean go? Why'd it come back?"

No one understood the threat, the looming shadow over the entire human race, cast from that little town of Beach City. The dust of ruin on the brink of the horizon in the form of the Crystal Gems.

No one knew. And that's all Steven could think about. It was all Connie could talk about.

It was barely on the Gems' minds.

"It originated in Beach City."

So, he sat in his room. Thinking about all the missions he'd been on. He thought about what Lapis had told him. What did he really know about the Gems? He pretended he knew everything about _them. _Just not their lives. Now, he wasn't so sure.

He'd ask his dad what mom was like. Rose was beautiful. And sweet. And kind. And everything she did was for the good of every living thing.

Why'd she give up her life for me? he'd ask.

"A group called the Crystal Gems, who originate from the city."

His dad would start tearing up and just say that it was because _she loved you, Steven. _

Why couldn't he feel it, then?

He sat in his room, shirt off, staring at his gem. His fingers traced over it, reminded himself of every groove he'd forgotten was in it. How did his mom wear it? What was she like?

Why would she give up her life? Was it the Gems? Was it what they did.

Gems, what was mom like?

_Rose was... the most wonderful person I've ever known, Steven._

_She was awesome!_

Don't worry too much about it, Steven.

And he remembered her fountain, and how Amethyst's gem cracked.

Then, he'd started crying, and he didn't remember when. Or why, exactly. Because he felt like he wasn't good enough. Never even close to where his mother had been.

Rose was untouchable. Her pedestal was floating with the clouds, and he was crawling in the sand. Nothing was bad about her, she was perfect in every way.

_Why'd she give herself up, then? _

_Was it the Gems? Was dad holding something back?_

But he'd never say it. He was too optimistic to think anything was wrong. But, he was still crying, and couldn't stop. No one was home, no one would stop him.

_I'll never be as good as her._ And he looked at his gem. _Why couldn't I know her, just for a minute?_

"These Crystal Gems are a threat."

That's how Connie found him when she came to invite him out. Curled up and crying. He was crying in her arms before he even realized she was there, hearing whispers about everything being ok.

And he thought it was mom, not Connie. Mom.

And Connie, not mom, asked what was wrong.

And, between his whimpers and sobs, he choked out: _Mom._

"And they need to be eliminated, at any costs."


	2. Dad

**Alright, so I renamed the story Family, for one change. It was supposed to be a one-shot but the overwhelmingly positive reaction has led to it now becoming a three parter, with said third part being out later. The conclusion this is going towards, which I've created, might not be what you expect or hope for. Still, Read&amp;Review and know that I hold no shame.**

* * *

"We've located the Crystal Gems."

Missions seemed to be lackluster now. The spark in them seemed to be little more than flickers.

Ice caverns. Fire forests. Floating islands inside tornadoes.

Giant slugs. Wolves made of stone. Squids of pure energy.

Nothing he saw with the Gems lit up anything for him, not since Lapis. Every second, he thought about mom. And when he thought about Rose, he thought about dad.

Dad.

_What is it, little buddy?_

Why did mom... give herself up?

_She loved you, Steven._

But that's all he'd say.

"How are we going to handle this?"

Connie had been coming by more often now. Every other day she was stopping in, making sure he was ok.

Steven would be in his room, talking to himself more than anything. Muttering about his dad and the Gems. About mom and Lapis. About the monsters they'd fought and what what different about them.

_Home_, Lapis had told him. Was that the same home of the Gems? Did it matter?

Maybe it did. Maybe their world was destroyed by something, or became unlivable like in a cartoon. Maybe the Gems destroyed it, and that's what Lapis was talking about?

Some of this was what Connie pitched as an idea, after Steven told her what happened. And it made sense.

He liked to pretend it did.

"Quickly, without incident. With extreme prejudice."

Every slug and wolf and squid he fought just made him think that they were Gems too. _Were Gems,_ Pearl would always assert.

But the Crystal Gems were trying to help the gems. Like they said Rose always did.

_You mother loved everything, _Dad would say.

"They're equipped to handle these women."

_She loved the way the sun came up in the morning. And the birds chirping. And the way people yawned. She saw the best in everything._

Everything was fine, Steven finally concluded. He was getting worked up over nothing. His days with Connie got happier. His time with the Gems were more exciting again.

Steven was smiling wider than ever. He was Steven, not Rose Quartz, he started to understand. And that was fine.

"We can't risk another disaster."

And she loved you too, dad.

And Dad smiled, ruffled his hair.

_And she loved your old man, too. Yeah._ Dad said.

Everything was on a good course again. When Steven and Connie went out onto the beach, the sun made him think of his Dad and Mom, how happy they were.

"Remove them at all costs."


	3. Son

"_The raid on the Crystal Gems has been completed..._"

Nothing ever goes the way it's suppose to. It was a basic lesson of life, maybe. For every good thing, there is an opposite. A complete and utter horrible thing is always waiting for it. Steven learned that. It was something that he was just naturally supposed to learn. He just wished he didn't have to.

Mom could have saved her fast, he would tell himself later. But some things even healing tears can't fix.

He had been with Connie on the beach when they appeared. The sun was shining bright, the way his dad told him his mom liked it. The sand was taking the sun and making it their own, reflecting the light and absorbing the heat. He'd rolled up his pants, kicked off his sandals, and they'd jumped in and started splashing.

Pearl was watching them from the house. Amethyst stumbled out, stinging a lamp by her whip.

"Hey, what's going on?" She asked, half listening to whatever the response was.

Pearl turned to her and her expression was simple worry. "It's Steven, the way he's been acting recently. You don't think he's stopped trusting us, do you?"

"Relax. You really think he'd ever not trust us? It's like you don't know the guy, or something," She answered in her careless way.

"I suppose you're right about..." Pearl looked out towards the bend of the hill. "Who are they?"

Pearl started down the stairs to the sand before letting Amethyst answer, while Amethyst alerted Garnet to to the unknown visitors.

There were three of them. They wore body armor, bullet proof vests and padding across nearly every inch of their bodies. Their heads were covered with metal helmets, bullet proof visors of glass over their faces, tinted dark black. Their figures were unique, barely visible in spite of the padding. Two slim figures, one burly one. One slim woman, one slim man. The burly one could have gone either way, they couldn't tell. Steven was reminded of a Special Ops squad from a video game when he spotted them coming up the beach.

Honestly, when he first saw them, they seemed pretty cool.

"_The people we selected, as we discovered, were not as they seemed._"

They stopped when they spotted Pearl coming towards them. Connie and Steven came up behind her. Amethyst and Garnet were coming up from the house.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you who you are or ask that you please leave the premises," she said defiantly to them.

"Identify: Are you the ones calling yourselves the Crystal Gems, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl?" The slim man asked.

"Yes, we are." It was Garnet who said it, her quiet monotone breaking Pearl's concentration.

The kids ran up behind Amethyst. "Amethyst, what's going on?" Steven asked.

"Don't worry about it squirt. We got this," she smiled reassuringly.

"If you are the ones identified as the Crystal Gems," the burly one began. The three held their heads out. In the hands of the two slim ones, spears, black handles, with a shining white crystal on the tip, sharpened for killing. The burly one summed a gun that just fit in his massive palm. It was dark violet, with white and pink crystals forming circles on the back. The barrel of the gun seemed like a vase, where the base was huge and circular but it thinned out into a tiny cylinder as it came outward.

"We have been ordered to terminate you, before- before- before- before," and he kept repeating them. Prompting the Gems to look at each other.

Like a broken record.

"_They had their own personal vendetta against the Gems._"

They never found out what came after before. The slim man to the right sprang forward with his spear. Garnet summoned her gauntlets and the spear cracked when it struck them. The burly one stepped forward and kicked Garnet, sending her backward. He moved to strike Amethyst, but wasn't fast enough.

Amethyst rolled to her left and pushed the kids away. They yelped and hit the sand. Pearl was dueling with the slim woman. Amethyst's whip materialized in her hand and she sent a _crack_ at the burly one that was approaching her. It bounced off his chest like nothing. He took a few steps toward her, extending his gun towards her. She rolled again, he turned to follow. He fired a shot.

She rolled again, and it sent up a puff of sand. Which sent Connie stumbling backwards when it struck directly in front of her. Steven pulled her back to her feet. Then, he noticed the burly one staring at him.

Amethyst's whip was still bouncing off of him, no damage done. He was just staring at Steven. "Gem Quartz," he said, just loud enough.

He took aim at Steven. Then, Garnet sent up an explosion of sand when she slammed her fist in his chest.

"Steven, get out of here!" Pearl shouted at him. She'd been handling both of the slim ones, now Amethyst was helping her fight one. Garnet was still punching the burly one, and the burly one kept blocking each hit.

The kids exchanged a look, nodded, and grabbed one another's hands, running as fast as they could bring themselves to run. Just to get behind a rock.

"_What were the casualties?" _

The burly one kicked Garnet back again, and fired a shot at her. A single crystal fired from the barrel and struck her gauntlet. The crystal shattered into bits as it struck her gauntlet, sending dust scattering out. She put her gauntlets to the side to meet another shot from the burly one. This time a larger crystal shot out from the barrel, and when Garnet barely got her fist up this one sent her skidding on her knees in the sand.

He looked up. Amethyst and Pearl were in an even fight against his companions. His gun glowed and he took aim towards the fleeing kids. A stream of crystals fired from his weapon. They were slender crystals, fired with no where near the same power as the one he'd hit Garnet with.

The heard the shots coming before they got anywhere near them. A few of the crystals landed just behind them, or in the sand beside them. Steven grabbed Connie's hand and jumped. They went hurtling over the rock and crashed into the sand behind it, as the gems came flying over them.

The crystals made little _twang_ sounds as they shattered against the rock. The sound stopped, and Steven poked his head out. Garnet had attacked the shooter again, this time putting him on the ground and continuously hitting him. He didn't notice the irregularity in either his or Connie's breathing.

Pearl's blade struck the crystal on the the slim one's spear. She turned on her heel and knocked the blade out of his hands. Before he hd a chance to react, he had Pearl's blade run through his chest. He shook for a moment. A flash of light came from him, going towards the burly one. His clothes and armor pooled on the floor, but there was no body anymore.

"Yeah! Go, Pearl!" Steven shouted in victory.

"Steven," Connie said beside him. He was too lost in his excitement to hear.

Amethyst caught the crystal on the staff with one hand. She grinned, rolled to the side, ripping the staff out of the other's hand. She wrapped her whip around the other one's ankle, bringing her to the floor. Amethyst threw the staff away and pulled the whip, bringing her opponent to the floor. She lifted her into the sky with the whip and sent her crashing into the sand. Then she did it again. And again. And again. Until the slim woman screeched. She emitted the same flash of light towards the burly one, and disintegrated in the same way as her companion.

Amethyst and Pearl rushed over Garnet, who was wrestling with the burly one now.

"Steven," Connie beckoned quietly.

The burly one threw Garnet back, pulled his gun up. The whip wrapped around the barrel and it was flung out of his hand. He watched it go skyward. Watched Pearl jump up and slice the weapon in two. Turned into Garnet's freight train of a tackle that sent him against the cliff, knocking his helmet off.

Steven was cheering louder now.

"Steven," she said to him again. Still unheard. Too quiet.

His skin was green. There were fangs stretching down to his chin. The top of his skull had a glowing blue gem embedded in it. His temples seemed to puff out like the scale of a snake. He was stumbling against the rocks, trying to get back up. Amethyst had his whip wrapped around him.

He was shouting something, Steven could barely make it out. It mostly sounded like him loudly repeating "This is all your fault! You did this!" before breaking out into a fit of screaming and noises that didn't sound close to humanoid.

"Steven."

His shouting stopped when he said "Everything was better before- before- before- before- before- before- before- before-" And they never heard what was after before. Like a broken record.

Garnet sent one punch to his head and he was gone. Nothing more than a blue gem in the sand that needed to be contained.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder while he was cheering. It was a soft touch, gentle. There was no urgency to it. "Steven," Connie finally grabbed his attention.

"_Besides our magic man, we believe, one civilian collateral._"

Her breathes were shallow. She was desperately trying to take in as much air as possible. There was a slender white crystal, turning red now, sticking out of her chest. She was starting at him, there were tears filling her eyes, and she was desperately trying to ignore the shard impaled in her chest.

Steven let out a scream, which turned the Gems around.

"Steven!" They said in unison, rushing to him.

"Oh no, oh no," Steven said frantically.

"Does it," a shallow breath, "look bad?"

Steven gulped, shook his head. "No, no..." He lied. He had no idea, honestly.

That's good," she choked out. She shut her eyes and fell over in a second.

Steven grabbed her shoulder and kept her against the rock, before she sent the crystal further in her chest. Her shirt was growing dark red.

Pearl skidded in the sand when she got to them. "Steven, what's the-" and saw the problem. "Oh dear."

"Whoa," Amethyst added.

"What do I do, what do I do?!" Steven shouted frantically.

Pearl leaned close, supporting Connie. "Let me see her." She put her fingers over the crystal. "...It's over her heart. Steven, I don't know what we can do. If we pull it out.."

"I'll spit on her!"

"Ew," Amethyst added again.

"I can heal her with that, right?"

"In theory," Pearl answered. "But, I fear the damage is..." and she trailed off.

Steven spit in his hand. He pushed Pearl's hand away and slowly pulled the crystal from where it was embedded. As fast as he could, he had his hand under her shirt and pressed his saliva against the cut. The wound seemed to light up in a pale red, but she didn't seem to change. She was just as unconscious, just as weak of breath.

"Get her to the house," Garnet ordered. Pearl scooped her up in her arms and they rushed to the house.

"_And is this civilian dead?"_

Steven insisted that Connie be placed on his bed, they set her down and the Gems got to work making her comfortable. Wrapping a bandage around her chest, setting a cool cloth on her forehead, anything that was helping her.

Steven didn't leave her side. He sat there, silently worrying while the Gems rushed around him.

"_We have no idea._"

"His gem was cracked," Garnet explained to the other Gems, from afar. Hours had passed. They thought that Steven couldn't hear them, but they were wrong.

"What does this mean? Does everyone suddenly have a personal vendetta for us?" Pearl asked.

"I don't like it," Amethyst said, dropping onto the couch.

Steven mumbled to himself.

"_Should we send someone in after them again?" _

"It's my fault... my fault, my fault," Steven muttered. But it wasn't all his fault, his mind told him. It was the Gems. Pearl and Amethyst and Garnet.

And Rose Quartz, too. Rose was just as much the problem, he told himself it was all his mother's fault.

If she had been here, Connie wouldn't be hurt right now. Wouldn't even have been in the line of fire.

Steven was hunched over, head on the bed, in his arms. He was crying again, and he didn't care if the Gems could hear.

"_No. Trying to stop them would only cause us problems." _

"I don't deserve these powers," he sobbed. "I shouldn't have these powers, or this healing spit. I shouldn't even be here."

He pushed his face further into the mattress. "I don't deserve to be Rose Quartz's son!"

And he felt the hand touch him. He sniffed and look up. _Mom?_ he thought for a second, not the first time.

"You're okay," Connie said weakly. Steven jumped up and hugged her. She winced and started ow-ing before Steven fell back and apologized.

The Gems rushed over. "Oh thank heaven!" Pearl exclaimed.

"I thought you were dead," Steven admitted, smiling at her.

"Me too," Connie answered, then smiled a bit.

"_Let them destroy themselves, if they want to."_

* * *

**The End.**


	4. Friends

**By popular demand, I have decided to extend the story a little longer. I came up with a bit of an addition to follow up Son, which will be manifesting itself as this and another chapter. Possibly, two more after this. Either way, Read&amp;Review.**

* * *

When she was well enough to speak, she simply asked her parents if she could stay at Steven's house. By some miracle, they agreed. Connie's breathing shifted back to those shallow breaths afterward. She could only hold herself up so long.

They stayed by Steven's bed, talked for a while (though it was mostly Steven). The Gems would walk away periodically. Back to their own rooms, or out to the patio. When they were gone, it all came out.

The doubt, the fear, the unrest. The sobs usually came last and Connie would comfort him, as best she could.

Most of his words were nothing beyond "I'm sorry."

"Steven, it's okay."

"_So sorry..."_

He would wipe the tears. The Gems would return.

It went on like this until the sun dipped below the horizon. Connie rested. Steven rested on his elbows beside her. Both snored.

* * *

A few months passed. The events were pushed behind. The "Before man" was forgotten, for the most part. Newer missions became a focus. Time went on, and things changed. He saw greater challenges. Things he wouldn't even hope to see again. Things he _hoped_ he wouldn't need to see again.

The fear, however, lingered.

Connie stayed over another night, long after the night Steven dreamed she wouldn't wake up. They fell asleep as they had before. Everything was normal.

There was a knock on the door. Pearl answered the door. The Gems assumed that the children were not stirred by the loud knocking. They were wrong.

"Hello?" Pearl started.

"Evening," one of the men at the door answered.

"Is this the Quartz residence?" The second one continued.

Pearl froze for a second. "Yes."

"We're here hoping that you would be willing to assist us in an ongoing... investigation."

There was a long silence. Amethyst and Garnet watched from the kitchen counter. Eventually, Pearl allowed them entry. They thanks her.

They were both tall and well-built. One had blonde hair; the other, dark black. They settled themselves onto the couch, while the Gems stood from a distance away.

For a while, there was nothing. Then, one of them coughed.

"I'm Agent Cobble," the blonde said. He motioned to his partner, "This is Agent Cedar."

"We're sorry to bother your household at such a late hour," Cedar continued.

"Oh, it's really no problem," Pearl responded. A tone of worry escaped her. "What's all this about?"

"There have been reports coming to our offices from Beach City. Mascots going on brawling sprees, pink lions flying through the streets, people going missing for days or weeks on end, walking melons, et cetera, et cetera," Cobble reached into his back pocket. He unfolded a single piece of paper. "Interestingly enough, it is always the three of you who emerge in these reports. Or, at the very least, the boy under your guardianship."

"Hah, and what are you implying?" Pearl said simply.

"Yeah," Amethyst threatened, "what's the big idea?"

"There is no implication. It is just an observation. It's because of those observations that our organization believes that there is some clear connection between you and _this_," Cobble held up a picture. It had been printed out in grayscale, but it looked like an ever-expanding desert.

"What's that?" Pearl inquired, more annoyed than curious.

"The ocean."

Their faces seem to sink. Pearl took a step back and joined the Gems at the counter. They all tried to think of an adequate response, but there was nothing.

Cedar picked up the conversation. "Obviously, the sudden disappearance of the oceans is something that concerns us. But, that still isn't why we're here."

"One of our..." Cobble remained silent for a moment. "Men," he eventually finished, "went rogue following the incident with the ocean. we understand that he came to your residence."

"That whiny, little scumbag was one of you's guys?" Amethyst asserted. She stepped forward, and Pearl held her back by the shoulder.

"He was, but he was not under and orders from us," He lied. "We simply wish to fill in the one hole in the report our agent in Beach City sent to our offices." Cobble paused, tucking the paper away.

"And what's that?" Pearl asked. Pearl finally forced Amethyst to calm down.

"We understand that there was a civilian hit during the skirmish. Our agent said he saw blood on someone after our man was beaten." Cedar paused a while. He tried to find the best way to phrase the question, but ultimately he only found one way to ask. "Is the civilian dead?"

Pearl stepped forward. Offended, she started shouting. "Of course she's not dead!"

"Pearl."

"And who in their right mind comes around to ask whether or not someone is alive or dead **_months_** after the supposed incident took place. You send that– that... _crazed animal _on us and you want to pretend that you even cared about who might have been hurt during the chaos!?"

"Pearl."

"AND TO COME AROUND, THIS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, WHEN STEVEN IS TRYING TO GET THE HUMAN REST THAT HE NEEDS, OH– oh! You two are pathetic, simply and utterly pathetic! You don't even care about how–"

"Pearl!" Garnet shouted.

Pearl's cheeks lit up with sky blue and she turned away, wandering behind Amethyst and Garnet.

The Gems' leader stepped up to the agents. They kept a cool exterior, but they were fearing they might end up like their magical man assailant. "I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to leave," she said simply.

The agents stood and obeyed Garnet's orders. When they reached the door, they turned around again.

Cedar picked up the conversations again. "We may have had an agreement to keep out of Gem affairs with Mrs. Universe, but we are not going to wait for more people to get hurt."

"We do care about that civilian," Cobble announced to them. "If that innocent person died, we would not hesitate to bring our best to Beach City... If you and your... misfits put the world at risk on the level of the Ocean Incident again, it isn't gonna end well for anyone, and that includes that little boy you're trying to protect, so much."

"Get out!" Garnet roared at them. The agents scurried back down to the beach.

The house was quite for a while. Pearl and Amethyst made their way back to their rooms. Garnet stayed behind for a while.

"Garnet?" A voice from beside her questioned.

"Yes, Steven?"

Steven came down the steps and stared at her from a distance. Connie came up behind him and set a hand on his shoulder. She spoke for him. "Is everything going to be okay?" She couldn't help but grasp at her chest.

* * *

"I hope your conscience is clear now, Cedar."

"It is."

"What should we tell the boss?"

"To keep an eye on them. They'll fall apart on their own."

* * *

"Everything's going to be just fine," Garnet eventually lied, with an effort.

* * *

"And we'll clean up the shards, if we have to."


	5. Nuclear

Connie and Steven sat out on the beach. They took turns reading chapters in the newest addition to the _No Home Boys_ series. Steven was infinitely proud of being the one to get Connie interested in these books. They were making slow progress through the book, but they were enjoying the slow pace. It gave them time to discuss, theorize, and prepare themselves for the next exhilarating chapter.

This addition to the series was titled _In Arms_, detailing the adventure the boys go on as they discover that there is a man who claims to be their long lost Pappy. And the "soul crippling decision that the boys have to come to, when the decision between staying on the run or going back to a home they've forgotten might be the decision that splits them apart forever," Steven described.

They were nearing the end, the third to last chapter. Connie was reading. This was the big confrontation between the boys and their lost Pappy.

* * *

"_. . . 'You can't do this!' Jack announced. The train took a sharp turn on the tracks. The hay pile behind him collapsed in on itself, falling around his feet. He took a step towards his brother, but then thought better of it. 'I thought we were a team! I thought we were brothers!'_

_'I still am your brother, Jack,' Frank responded in a dejected tone. _

_'You sure as honkey ain't actin' like it!'_

_'Boys,' the older man tried to get between them. 'Please, don't fight. What would your ma think if she saw you two going at it like this?'_

_'I dunno, ya old fool! What would she be thinkin'? I know that I don't know. And, you know what, I dunno if you know either!' Jack stepped straight up to his Pappy. He thrusted at finger into his father's chest. In a reactionary movement, his father lurched back and his back crashed against the metal of the train car. Jack did not back down. 'Ma never even knew us! She never saw us get bigger! She wasn't here when Frank learned to ride a bike or when I kissed a girl. She never even came to a birthday!'_

_'Jack,' Frank implored, to no use. _

_'She's gone! She's gone and she's always gonna stay gone! You know it, he knows it, and I know it too!' Jack turned from them, returning to the hay pile. He brushed his sleeve across his eyes. 'And we ain't gonna get to know her neither...'_

_Frank took a couple steps forward and..._"

* * *

There was a silence between the children.

"Connie?" Steven asked, after a time.

"Huh?" Connie said, broken from her trance

"Why'd you stop reading?"

"Oh... I guess I just got thinking."

"What about?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"It's never nothing!"

There was another silence between them. Connie, eventually, spoke up, "Do you ever think about your mom?"

"Sometimes," Steven said with an effort, "I guess. They talk about her all the time."

"What do you think about her?" Connie persisted.

* * *

"Well, then what are we supposed to be doing here, huh?" Amethyst questioned. She laid across the couch, watching Garnet lean against the front door.

"I don't know," the leader said.

"Well, we can't just... wait around!" Pearl announced. "Stand around, twiddling our thumbs, and wait for whatever creature is going to come after us next. There's too much going on for us to have another unknown threat, Garnet!"

"Pearl's right," Amethyst rolled to the floor, "if we're gonna fight, we should get ready to fight already!"

* * *

"_Word from the north is that it escaped four days ago." _

_"Where was she going?"_

_"Take a guess."_

_"We lost all eyes on it?"_

_"Nowhere to be found."_

_"That's fine."_

_"It won't last without incubation."_

_"Good."_

* * *

"Garnet, c'mon, you gotta tells us what's coming!"

"Yes, Garnet, please, there must be something you can tell us."

"I can only see so far!" Garnet raised her voice at them.

The Crystal Gems were silent.

* * *

"She seemed nice," Steven answered.

"She sounds like she was really cool. Leading and fighting and protecting everything." Connie was practically gushing. "Everything I've heard, I wish I could be just like her!"

"Yeah," Steven agreed. He lifted the sand up in his fist and watched the sand filter between his fingers.

After a couple moments of silence, Connie moved forward and put her hand over his. It was a little movement Steven had come to recognize from her after a while. Yet, every time she did this, Steven could only think of a slender crystal piercing through her shirt.

He moved his eyes from the sand to her. She smiled softly, the light blush hitting her cheeks. "You're okay," she assured him.

And that dredged up more memories from that day. "What if I'm not?" he exclaimed. Connie reeled back and watched him. "I might have a couple of the powers my mom had, but what if I never get good with them? What if I'm never able to lead like her? Or be strong like her? I can barely do anything. Pearl said that my mom led an entire battle and crushed her enemies because of how strong she was. I can't live up to her, I can't... I can't even..."

He froze when Connie caught him off guard with a hug. She spoke normally, "Steven, you're the nicest person I've ever seen. Stop beating yourself up about being a Crystal Gem. You're awesome. You're okay. You're Steven."

They separated and sat in the sand, staring at one another for a while. Eventually, they both smiled.

Connie lifted up the book they had been reading, but stopped like a deer in headlights. She pointed down the shoreline. "What's that?"

* * *

It wondered where it was walking. There was some unconscious force at work in it's head, moving it along the beachfront. It had already forgotten about the snow and forests it had wandered through. The last four days seemed to be a blur to it, and it was beginning to feel as though there would be no where further to go. There was a face carved into the mountain. A body. A figure. It couldn't distinguish what the figure was suppose to be, but it recognized the figure.

It lifted a grotesque, swollen arm upwards, gesturing towards the monument, making a note of what it was and where it stood. It's left arm had shriveled up to the point of uselessness, swinging limply to and fro. The vague shapes of legs were visible beneath the slug foot that it moved with. The sand stuck along the foot of the beast while it left a wet trail of mucus behind it. Strands of scattered, purple hair flowed off of the beast's head. It's head consisted of one large eye and a lip that was split down the middle, so that it seemed to have two separate mouths. When one of them opened, a black slime oozed out and onto the sand.

On its back, a cracked, dark black gem seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, providing some contrast to the violet skin on the beast.

It heard a girl scream and quickly made its way towards the sound.

Just as quickly as it saw the little wooden home in the side of the mountain, it heard another scream echo across the beach.

They came down on it like harpies, hitting with strikes that stung it. As blades and whips and gauntlets struck its skin, it reared backward, hissing. Thick ooze spewed as it screeched, burning the sand before it.

One of the harpies stepped toward it, swinging a blade. It spun, catching her with its tail. It knocked her away as the others charged. They jumped atop it, but it struggled back. They jumped back into the sand before any damage could be done.

* * *

Now, it fled. It sped across the beach, towards the kids. Steven stood in front of Connie.

"What is that thing?!" She questioned.

"Stay behind me!" Steven ordered. He stepped forward, forearm bent in front of him. The creature continued towards him, at ramming speed. As it got within inches of the kids, the glowing bubble appeared around them, dropping the beast back into the sand, dazed.

It stayed frozen for a moment. Completely motionless, only the sludge dripping from its lips. The left set of lips started a phrase that the right one finished: "Rose... Quartz."

Steven stopped, the bubble falling away from around them. "You... talk?"

"It talks?!"

"Steven, get down!" Garnet shouted. The beast looked up and was set across the sands from one hit of Garnet's gauntlets.

Steven looked to the oncoming Crystal Gems, frantically. "Wait! Stop!"

But they had already started charging it.

"Wait! Guys! Gah!" He turned around. "Connie, stay here! I gotta stop them!" And he rushed after the Gems.

"Wait, Steven!" Connie called after him.

* * *

The creature was cornered between the gems and the mountainside. The Gems observed it. It twitched and screeched at the sky. It threw a wild flurry of strikes, but none came within any range of the Gems. It's body seemed to be crawling, and it seemed to be more in pain than anything else.

"Alright, let's take this thing down," Garnet instructed. The three lifted their weapons and prepared to strike.

"_Stop!"_ Steven shouted, rushing past them.

"Steven! What are you doing?" Pearl demanded an answer from him.

He stopped in front of the beast and held his arms out. His bubble shield appeared around himself and the monster.

"Steven, are you nuts?" Amethyst shouted.

"Take down that bubble shield. This instant!" Pearl ordered.

Steven kept his eyes firmly on the creature. It was still twitching, but he had left sufficient space for himself to be safe (he hoped).

"You talk?"

It hissed at him.

He lifted his shirt above his stomach. "You saw this?"

It froze again, its skin still shuttering. "Roooooo_sssssssss_e."

"Yeah, I'm a gem too." Steven took a step closer towards the beast.

"Steven, stop that!" Garnet shouted outside the bubble.

"Not. Rose." The monster spoke silently. Slowly, the sporadic movements faded and it crawled towards Steven. "Not. Rose. Who."

"I'm Steven. Steven Quartz Universe."

"Quartz." It recognized. "Quartz Universe."

He smiled. "Yeah, yeah! What's your name?"

It elicited a couple of clicking sounds. Then, slowly, "Ur... Uranium... Call. Uranium."

"Uranium. Okay. Why are you here?"

"Quartz." Its one eye blinked a few times. It lowered itself to his level. "Remembered. Quartz."

"I'm not... _really_ the one you're looking for... But..."

"Not. Forget."

"Forget?"

"Not Forget. Forget." The sludge was dripping from its sets of lips again.

"What should I not be forgetting?"

"Not. Forget." It froze again. Uranium's malformed arm extended towards Steven. It settled a finger on Steven's gem.

"Steven, be careful!" Pearl warned.

"I'm fine!" He answered. He watched the gem beast at work now.

It slid the finger slowly across the gemstone. "Not. Forget. Me."

"Why?" Steven asked.

"Tired." It answered.

"Tired?"

Uranium's one eye started to glow white. Soon, the glow spread to the rest of its body. The glow took its time as it spread down its body.

"Memories... In here..." The glow reached the fingers. Steven felt the tingling throughout his body. His gem began to shine with a blinding pink. And soon, he noticed the pink glow spreading across his skin. Eventually, the glow touched his own eyes and he screamed in fear. As his mouth open, a beam of light escaped and hit the bubble.

The bubble shined brighter, and seemed to reinforce itself. The Crystal Gems rushed to attack it and were bounced back when they struck it.

"Steven!" They shouted in unison, as the young gem was lost inside the bubble's glow.


End file.
